5 Tips for Productivity + Workouts for the Week

I sure did! I got in 20 minutes on the stair-mill in the morning and a Chest/Ab workout in the evening. I also took a walk to the coffee shop midday (it was for a meeting, but it still counts!), drank coffee (x2), and got a great night of sleep Sunday night. I did NOT want to get out of bed Monday morning because I was enjoying it so much, but it definitely made a difference in my day.

I read an article this weekend that said the way to be most productive is to work for 56 minutes and take a 17 minute break. I thought that was pretty interesting. I’m definitely going to play around with it this week and see if it helps with the amount of work I get done.

In my jobs, I am constantly being bombarded with new tasks. Running a gym AND working full time free-lance means I have to be super efficient. If I’m not, I don’t get to sleep OR don’t get everything done and it runs into the next day. I like my sleep and I don’t like letting things get pushed to the next day, so I like to think I’ve mastered productivity. Part of that comes from my natural ability to work quickly, but it also comes from being in high pressure jobs for most of my life. I’ve worked for celebrities, highly demanding CEO’s, and more. Here are my tried and true ways to get 1.5 million things done efficiently.

Fit Lizzio’s Guide To “Getting Shit Done”

1. Create a calendar. This is #1. In order to plan your projects out, you need to create deadlines for yourself. Having 1 deadline for an entire project to be finished is just simply not enough. If your deadline is in 1 week, you should have mini deadlines each day for what you need to get done in order to finish on time. Map out your project on a calendar so that you can see both your mini-deadlines, as well as your final deadline.

2. Create a task-list.This is just as important as creating a calendar. Each day, I write out my tasks that I need to get done by the end of the day. As I work through them, I check them off my list (which is oh-so-satisfying, might I add), and work my way through. If it can be pushed to the next day or to a lighter day, it gets pushed. The most important tasks are put in the forefront and I plan my week accordingly. NOTE: I also put my workouts in my task-list. Like I said, I don’t like to push things to the next day, so I figure out a way to get ’em done!

3. Hardest tasks first.Most people like to get the easy, small tasks out of the way first, but that is actually counter-productive. Your brain is sharpest early on in the day, so it is actually better to start with the tasks that require more brain power and energy. This way, by the time you’re tired and your brain sort of starts feeling like mush, you’re left with the simpler tasks to get through.

4. Focus on the task at hand.This is something I still work on myself. It’s easy to be working on a project, hear your phone ring, or have the e-mail *ding* go off and immediately meander to the latest and greatest that just came in. This is a bad habit, as you begin to distract yourself from the task at hand and can lose your train of thought much more easily. If it’s urgent and you have to step away, then do it, but make sure you come back to the initial task you were working on. If you can wing it, don’t check your phone or e-mail until you’re finished with what you’re working on. This also helps to prevent silly errors and mistakes that often happen when your attention is detracted.

5.Take breaks and breathe.I am a work binger. There are times that I sit down at the computer and 5 hours later look up to see a haze from staring at the screen for so long, not really realizing what has happened in the world in those last 5 hours. At some point, you need to get up and walk around. You need to shake your legs out, clear your head, have a snack, breathe, and then get back to work. You may not realize it while it’s happening, but being so intent with work for such a long time can actually put you into a sort of “work abyss”. You start to lose track of what actually makes sense and your work may be compromised. I’ve done it SO many times. I go through a “work binge” thinking what I have written or worked on is GOLD, only to look over it the next day wondering who the hell did it. Frequent breaks will help your soul (and work!), I promise. 🙂

Along with making big things happen this week, here’s my workout plan for the week: